"Religion is all about personal growth"

As a follower of Buddhism, I have a completely different philosophy towards religion. For me, practice of religion is a science. I also believe that the religion you follow does not matter as long as you know where you are heading in life. Having read a lot on religion, I can say that all religions are aimed at improving humans so that they can deal with life’s daily struggles.

As far as rituals are concerned, I do believe in some of them. For example, I feel that havans generate good vibes and create a pure atmosphere. Most importantly, I believe in the ‘cause-and-effect’ phenomenon. So, if I am rude to someone at workplace or in personal life, the cause I believe is bad and, therefore, the effect will be bad, too.

Hard work and karma are integral to my concept of spirituality. I chant everyday and I feel that it acts as a healer. Meditation and yoga are therapies of their own kind, but for me, I’m happy with my sound therapy, which is chanting.

Religion is a matter of choice at my house. My parents followed Arya Samaj, I follow Buddhism while my husband follows Hinduism. As for my children, they can decide what they want to believe in once they grow up. No one has ever forced me to accept a particular religion or belief and hence, I have grown up with a belief that religion is all about personal faith.

And that holds true when I am dealing with people from different religious backgrounds. I never let religion decide my relationship with people. I have a majority of Muslims working with me and I share a very good relation with all of them. I believe personal growth and personality development is more important than anything else. It is only when you grow from within that you feel happiness within.

While it is important to earn money, it is very important to tap one’s inner potential to be a good human being. That is the most important thing for me. It is only with inner peace that you can make a difference to your life. So, it is important to know and understand yourself completely. Once you have emptied your system, you enter a perfect world.